Nearly?maygun wrote: ↑03 May 2025, 23:22George cannot slack anymore, whenever he is not on his top form, kimi would be in his neck. It is obvious that this week Kimi is #1 driver.
With very minimal updates so far, Merc looks promising, I hope that Imola updates deliver, and Merc would be in the mix also.
Also chapeau to Toto, literally Mercedes saved ~50 million dollars in Lewis salary this year, and probably getting nearly the same similar performance. Sponsor-wise also didn't lose any big names or found replacements.
Didnt want to summon a particular fanbase to the discussionCs98 wrote: ↑03 May 2025, 23:39Nearly?maygun wrote: ↑03 May 2025, 23:22George cannot slack anymore, whenever he is not on his top form, kimi would be in his neck. It is obvious that this week Kimi is #1 driver.
With very minimal updates so far, Merc looks promising, I hope that Imola updates deliver, and Merc would be in the mix also.
Also chapeau to Toto, literally Mercedes saved ~50 million dollars in Lewis salary this year, and probably getting nearly the same similar performance. Sponsor-wise also didn't lose any big names or found replacements.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/geor ... /10719537/Russell says that unlocking performance from the front tyres was the likely culprit, and that he was struggling to feel the front-end bite in the middle sector of the lap.
He suggested that an overnight increase in tyre pressures "compounded the issue", particularly as he felt that Mercedes was likeliest of the frontrunning teams to suffer as a result.
..
"Pirelli increased the pressures last night which compounded the issue, and we know that out of the top four teams we're probably the worst in keeping the temperature out of the tyres.
"It's so close out there on a single lap, but I unfortunately expect that gap to extend tomorrow."
So expect George to really struggle on his fronts and Kimi maintaining his pace through the race but struggling with rear in management.AR3-GP wrote: ↑04 May 2025, 00:54Mercedes looks very hard on their tires this weekend. That is my observation. Antonelli struggled quite a bit in the sprint race and he is usually very metronomic and consistent with the tires. They also had absolutely zero pace on the used tire runs in qualy which suggest they are taking a lot out of the tires.
I wouldn't be surprised if he gains a position honestly. Max will probably be super aggressive covering Norris, if Kimi has a decent start there should be opportunities on the outside.
Yeah, actually a very valid point. Maybe he might even lead as VER and NOR battle it out. Could very well happen tbh.
Maybe it was because of the changing conditions? George was gapping the ferrari.AR3-GP wrote: ↑04 May 2025, 00:54Mercedes looks very hard on their tires this weekend. That is my observation. Antonelli struggled quite a bit in the sprint race and he is usually very metronomic and consistent with the tires. They also had absolutely zero pace on the used tire runs in qualy which suggest they are taking a lot out of the tires.
They are overheating the tires. Intermediates are very sensitive to that. Ferrari was overheating the fronts according to radio. Russell was struggling with the hot tires during qualifying and I think that’s why he had no grip or confidence. The car is just sliding when the tires overheat.Jdn1327 wrote: ↑04 May 2025, 14:41Maybe it was because of the changing conditions? George was gapping the ferrari.AR3-GP wrote: ↑04 May 2025, 00:54Mercedes looks very hard on their tires this weekend. That is my observation. Antonelli struggled quite a bit in the sprint race and he is usually very metronomic and consistent with the tires. They also had absolutely zero pace on the used tire runs in qualy which suggest they are taking a lot out of the tires.
